Apparatus for cleaning car-seats



(NoModeL') S 3Sheets-Shet 1. D W. COPELAND.

APPARATUS FOR CLEANING UAR SEATS. No. 374,940. N Patented Dec. 20,1887.

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. D. W. COPELAND.

APPARATUS FQR CLEANING GAR SEATS.

No. 374,940. I Patented Dec. 20, 1887.

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D. W. COPELAND. APPARATUS FOR CLEANING GAR SEATS. No. 374,940. Patented Dec. 20,1887.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

DAVID IV. COPELAND, OF SYRACUSE, NEW YORK.

APPARATUS FOR CLEANING CAR-SEATS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 374,940, dated December 20, 1887.

Application filed May 20, 1887. Serial No. 238,900. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it 722a, coir/corn:

Be it known that I, DAVID W. COPELAND, of Syracuse, in the county of Onondaga and State of New York, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Apparatus for Cleaning Oar-Seats; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same.

My invention is a machine for removing the dust from cushions, carpets, rugs, and other articles of a similar nature adapted to and requiring heating or brushing in order that they may be cleaned.

The invention consists of various constructions and combinations, all as hereinafter explained and particularly claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 shows a plan view of the machine. Fig. 2 shows a vertical longitudinal section on line 2 z of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 shows a vertical crosssection on line as mof Fig. 1; Fig. 4, alike section on line y y of Fig. 1, with a modified form of side brushes.

The mechanism of my machine is inclosed in a box, A, having an opening at each end, as indicated at a I). These are closed by doors 0 d, hinged on their lower horizontal edges, so as to swing down in a horizontal position, where they are supported on suitable brackets and form a shelf to sustain the article to be cleansed at its entrance and exit. I also provide the doorcwith a roller, 1, to facilitate the movement of the article, and 02 may have a like roller for the same purpose. The box or case A is shown as in the main of rectangular form, and its width may be regulated by the size of the articles which are to be cleansed.

I prefer to make it tight, so as to hold the dust and prevent it from being scattered. WVithin this box I locate heaters c f. These heaters are mad e, preferably, of steel wire rods, and are curved upward to fit the ordinary form of cushions; but this is not essential. They are pivoted on horizontal rocking bars E, journaled in suitable frame-work in the box and extended laterally across the same or at right angles to the movement of the seat. The heaters e are arranged alternately, and are of different lengths, as shown in Fig. 1, and I may use all the heaters of this form, or I may use the heaters f exclusively, these being supported on each side and extending to near the middle, those on one side being opposite those on the other; but I may use the heaters as shown in Fig. 1, both kinds being combined. I do not limit myself in this respect, nor in respect to the form or construction of the heaters. I prefer to have them of elastic material; but the rock-shafts which carry the beater-arms are outside of the path of the cushion or other article on the supporting-rollers, so that the beater-arms may strike fairly across the surface of such article and cover the whole surface, whether these arms overlap each other or meet at the center.

From the rocking bars E an arm, F, extends outwardly, and is connected at g to a lever, G, pi voted at 9 upon the wall of the box. A spring, H, is connected to each of these levers, with its lower end attached to the box below in a manner hereinafter explained. The free end of the lever G extendsunder an eccentric or stud,h, on the main driving-shaft, and as the shaft revolves the free end of the lever is depressed, thus extending the spring and depressing the heaters. IV hen the eccentric it leaves the free end of the lever G, the heaters are forced upward by the spring B, so as to give strokes upon the under surface of the cushion or other article which is passing or resting above them.

I have shown heaters pivot-ed on each side, as this gives a more uniform action upon the article to be cleansed; but heaters might be used pivoted upon one side only without departing from the spirit of my invention.

It will be understood that the precise device for giving the stroke of the heaters may heindefinitely varied, and my invention is not confined to this particular form of operating mechanism.

In addition to the roller 1, heretofore referred to, I provide another roller, 2, inside the box near the front thereof, over which the cushion or other article passes and by which it is supported, and in rear of the heaters is another supporting-roller, (marked 3.) The brush mechanism is shownon the right-hand side of Fig. 1 in its proper relation to the parts already described. The main hruslnwhich operates upon the broad surface of the cushion or other article, is shown at K. It is supported upon a shaft having its hearings in the walls of the box, and the end of this shaft has a pinion, 7c, in mesh with the internal gear of the driving-wheel L, fixed upon the end of a revolving shaft, Z, also journaled in the walls of the machine. This is the main shaft which carries the eccentric or stud h, heretofore described as operating the heaters. Behind the brush within the box is another supporting- 'roller, 4, and the supporting-roller 5 is on the cover (Z on the outside of the box when the cover is down. The supporting rollers are so arranged, as shown more clearly in Fig. 2, that the article to be cleansed passes over the main brush, exposing the under side, which has been previously beaten, to the action of the brush. To provide for the cleansing of the edges of the article, I have arranged another set of brushes, one form of which is shown in Fig. 1. These brushes are marked m. They are set on an arm or arms, Nfradially to the shaft Z, one or more at each end of the shaft and near the walls The brushes carried by them project inward and, as the shaft Z is turned, come in contact with the edges of the article. I have shown, also, in Fig. 4 a modification of this brush at at. These brushes are mounted upon a shaft, M, which is journaled in the box and carries the brushes extending horizontally and just above the line of the rollers, so that the edge of the cushion.

brushes come against the edge of the article sustained by the rollers and revolve in the same plane as that in which the article moves. This allows the brushes to be cut on their faces, as shown in Fig. 4, to conform to the rounded In this case the brushes are preferably mounted upon pins loosely secured to the shaft M, with interposed springs coiled about them, so that they may yield and adapt themselves to articles of different widths. In this case I locate the main driving-shaft Z a little lower down and connect the shaft M to it by means of bevel-gears, as shown in Fig. 4. It will be understood that the edge brushes are the same on both sides of the machine. The forms of the side brushes and their impelling mechanism may, however, be still further varied without departing from the spirit of my invention, which requires only the lateral brushes arranged to operate in close proximity to the face of the main brush, and provided with intermediate mechanism by which they may be impelled by power applied to move the other parts of the machine.

In order to vary the blows given by the beaters, I attach the springs H to a cross-bar, O, the ends of which are held in vertical slots in the walls. This bar is held down by eccentrics p on the shaft I, which is held inposition by a pawl-and-ratchet mechanism, Q. By turning this shaft P the eccentric moves the shaft below it, and this varies the tension of the springs, and in order to lessen the shock caused by the upward beat of the arms Ihave placed buffers q, of rubber or some like material, upon the under side of supporting-bar As shown at t, Fig. 2, the brackets in which the supporting-rollers are pivoted are attached to the wall by screws passing through slots, so that they may be adjusted vertically and in relation to the heaters. leysa on the outer end of their shafts, which are connected by a belt or cord, 1), and power is communicated to them by means of gears 00 as, one of which is on the main shaft Z. On the shaft of roller 2 are placed disks X, the inner faces of which are grooved or roughened so as to bear against the edges of the articles supported by the roller and to push it forward over the heaters. The rollers 1, 4, and 5 may have similar disks. closed, and prefer to make it so; but it may be instead an open frame.

As shown in Fig. 2, I have hinged a section of the cover of the box at the end and provide it with flanges extending downwardly upon each side. I provide this construction so that the article to be cleaned may be pushed in at an angle where the article or other cushion is of a curved sh ape and requires this inclination of the end. The flanges upon each side close up the space which would otherwise exist above the top of the box and prevent any escape of dust. I prefer, also, to cover the guide and supporting rollers with sand-paper, or otherwise roughen their surface, so that they will grasp the article'and feed it forward.

I claim as my invention I 1. In combination, the supporting-rollers, the heaters a, a brush, as K, and the laterallyarranged brushes for operating on the edges of the articles, and mechanism for operating the heaters and brushes, all substantially as described.

2. In an apparatus for cleaning cushions and other articles, the frame or box, the supporting-rollers, the heaters between the supporting rollers alternately supported from opposite sides, the horizontally arranged brush for cleaning the surface of the article, and the laterally-arranged brushes for cleaning the edges of the article, substantially as described.

3. The combination of the case inclosing the beating and brushing devices and the hinged doors at 0, each having a guiding-roller, substantially as described.

4. In combination with the guiding-rollers, the beaters, and horizontally-arranged brush, the side brushes conforming to the shape of the article and adj ustably supported to permit the passage of articles of different width, substantially as described.

5. In combination with the supporting-rollers, the beaters, and brushes of the machine,

The rollers have pul-' I have shown the box asthe roughened disks as w and operating mechanism therefor, arranged to feed forward the articles to be cleaned, substantially as described.

5 6. In combination with the rocking bars E, carrying the beaters, an arm on each of the rocking bars, a lever connected thereto, springs for giving the stroke, and cams on a revolving shaft for depressing the levers and [0 operating the springs, all substantially as described.

7. In the described machine and in combination, the box or case, the guiding-rollers, and the heaters, the brush horizontally ar- 15 ranged for the surface, and the laterally-arranged edge brushes driven by the main shaft, and mechanism connected with the main shaft for operating the other parts of the machine.

8. In combination, the box or case, the heaters, the levers, springs, and cam for op- 20 erating the heaters, and the adjustable pressure devices, as P Q, for changing the force of the springs, all substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two 25 subscribing witnesses.

DAVID W. COPELAND.

Witnesses:

CHAS. L. STURTEVANT, WALTER DONALDSON. 

